RACE TOWARD REDEMPTION: Jones Shares Message

DISGRACED OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNER REBUILDS LIFE, IMAGE

Tulsa Shock WNBA guard and former Olympic athlete Marion Jones, left, talks with several Fayetteville High School students before the Northwest Arkansas Tip-Off Club luncheon Tuesday in the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale. Jones spoke of both the highs and lows of her career and the confidence she has in her future.

Tulsa Shock WNBA guard and former Olympic athlete Marion Jones, left, talks with several Fayetteville High School students before the Northwest Arkansas Tip-Off Club luncheon Tuesday in the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale. Jones spoke of both the highs and lows of her career and the confidence she has in her future.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

— Marion Jones looked much like she did when she was the world’s fastest woman and known simply as Mrs. Jones in a string of popular Nike commercials.

Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her thick calves served as a reminder of her days as the breakout star of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

However, sitting at a table inside the lobby of the Springdale Holiday Inn, Jones spoke about her fall from grace and her gradual return to the spotlight after once ruling the track and field world.

“It’s not easy to have to relive and talk about certain things,” Jones said, relaxing an hour before speaking Tuesday to the Northwest Arkansas Tip-Off Club. “Nobody wants to have to constantly talk about the things in their past that they’re not all proud of.”

Now 35 and a mother of three, Jones admitted she’s at a place in her life that she could’ve never imagined being a decade ago. She’s a published author, a former prison inmate, a disgraced Olympian, the subject of a documentary and now a professional basketball player willing to share her story with anyone who’ll listen.

“I’ve heard her speak before, and each time you hear it, the message gets stronger and stronger,” said former Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson, who now coaches Jones with the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock.

“She’s doing exactly what the good man has asked her to do — deliver the message.”

A Greater Purpose

Jones acknowledged that she considered disappearing from the public eye upon her release from a federal prison in September 2008 after serving six months for lying to federal agents about taking performance-enhancing drugs.

She had retired from track and was stripped of the five medals she won at the Sydney Games (three golds and two bronze). All of a sudden, the world-class sprinter considered living a quiet life with her husband and children at their home in Austin, Texas.

“When I was released from prison, I wanted for a long time there just to live a normal life,” Jones said. “... After having gone through everything that I did, you know, I just wanted to be Mom. I just wanted to be Wife. I just wanted to try and live a normal life.

“And then I started to realize, well, that really is not helping anybody but maybe my kids, having me around a little bit more. Or my husband, and even after a little while that probably gets a little old.”

Jones admitted she missed the thrill of competing and wanted to be an example to her children that people can come back after making mistakes in their lives. A random text message helped her return, which included the release of her autobiography, “On the Right Track,” in late October.

Back In Action

Midway through last year, a friend sent Jones a text message asking her if she’d be interested in playing basketball again. She was the starting point guard on North Carolina’s national championship team in 1994, but hadn’t played in more than a decade.

Her response: “LOL” (Laugh out loud).

At the time, Jones was at least six months pregnant with her third child and figured she was far removed from her basketball days. But her friend sent another text message informing her that several Women’s National Basketball Association teams had inquired about her.

In 2003, while in the midst of her track career, Jones was surprised to learn one day while watching ESPN that the Phoenix Mercury had drafted her. Six years later, she decided to get back in shape immediately after her pregnancy and give the WNBA a shot.

She didn’t want to be simply a public relations gimmick, though.

“I’ve coached a lot of kids in my life,” Richardson said. “But no one has ever worked any harder at getting herself in position to play — even a little bit — than Marion Jones.”

Jones doesn’t report for training camp with the Shock until May. She averaged 3.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game as a backup last season.

Rather than playing overseas like other WNBA players, Jones has been on a hectic national tour over the past few months. She has spoken to high school students and gone on TV shows to promote her autobiography, which evolved from letters she wrote to her husband while incarcerated.

The book was part of what Jones said is her attempt to “make things right.”

“(Prison) was a really tough situation for me, but in general it was a blessing because it forced me to really prioritize my life,” Jones said. “It forced me to figure out what’s important.

“And it’s bad that it had to come to that, but I’m not at that point that I’m ungrateful. It happened, things happened (and) I’ve taken away certain things from it that I think are for the best.”

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports writer Bob Holt contributed to this report.